View from the highway: where are the jobs?

[IndianaGreen]

View from the highway: where are the jobs?

Truckers' read of the economy suggests a bit of ride to a recovery

By Ted Evanoff
Posted: July 25, 2010

In a country that moves on wheels, the sprawling Pilot truck stop on I-70 east of Indianapolis is an economic barometer.

"I was hoping 2010 would be better than 2009. But it's just OK," said Danville trucker Robert Thompson. "Now I'm hoping '11 will be better than '10."

Truck traffic is on the upswing, with freight volumes up 7 percent in May. But with 13 million people unemployed, it'll take a double-digit surge in cargo and corresponding economic activity to generate the 200,000 new jobs per month that many economists associate with a strong recovery.

Even at that level of 200,000, it would be 2014 before the economy is back to the 5 percent jobless rate that predated the recession in 2007. All in all, it will take the creation of almost 8 million new jobs to cut the nation's current 9.5 percent unemployment to pre-recession levels.

http://www.indystar.com/article/20100725/BUSINESS/7250353/Truckers-wonder-Where-are-the-jobs